The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

He Tao woke up late at night, rubbed his head, and took in the atmosphere around him—deathly silence.

This made He Tao somewhat uneasy.

When I woke up, I felt like I had been through another world.

He summoned a soldier on duty and asked in a hoarse voice, "What time is it now?"

"At three quarters past the hour of Yin, I thought the commander wouldn't wake up."

"What are you saying?"

He Tao was somewhat displeased, but didn't pursue the matter further. He turned back and asked, "What happened today when the centurion took office?"

The soldier recounted everything that had happened that day.

From the two rules set by the centurion, to ordering Meng Chong, the left-hand captain, to personally kill his corrupt underling, and finally rewarding the left-hand captain with two thousand coins.

She told He Tao everything, big and small.

The soldier then said...

"By the way, the centurion gave us another 50,000 coins last night, which was delivered by Commander Meng."

"He's a ruthless person."

He Tao had only one thought after hearing this: killing someone to establish authority at the beginning of his term, which intimidated two troublemakers under his command, was something that even Lan hadn't dared to do back then.

Even Meng Chong, who was obsessed with money, was so frightened that he took out the military pay he had painstakingly embezzled.

He Tao wasn't a burly man, so he understood perfectly well that the fifty taels of reward he received that night were not from the centurion.

That was clearly Meng Chong's ill-gotten gains; Meng Chong was just paying money to avoid trouble.

He Tao had only one thought in his mind—"From now on, I'll have to work my ass off for this guy."

This was an inevitable trend, and Ma Wenyuan's ruthless methods had made every officer feel insecure.

With a sweet treat, he won the hearts of all his soldiers.

He Tao understood that Ma Wenyuan's word was law here.

If he still wants to be a troublemaker, even his own subordinates might not respect him.

There was no way around it; the new centurion was being given too much.

……

The next day.

Ma Wenyuan's instructions have been issued.

Effective immediately, the troops will abandon the Ming army formations they have trained for many years, give up warhorses, and abandon all means of combat on land.

All personnel boarded the ship and remained there for seven days for acclimatization training.

Ma Wenyuan set an example by being the first to go up.

……

The foundation of the Ming Dynasty's navy was largely inherited from the Battle of Poyang Lake and from Chen Youliang's naval fleet.

Especially the multi-story ships, such as the Hunjianglong, Saiduanjiang, Zhuangdaoshan, and Jianghai'ao, are behemoths that can accommodate thousands of people.

Most of them were captured from Chen Youliang.

These ships were few and far between in the entire Ming Dynasty navy; they were mostly flagships of powerful figures, and Ma Wenyuan was certainly not fortunate enough to enjoy them.

It's not that the Ming Dynasty's navy was weak; in fact, that's not the case.

In the first year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial court built a naval base at Xinjiangkou and constructed 400 ships, which became the core of the central navy.

In the third year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang established twenty-four naval guards for the Ming Dynasty, equipping each guard with fifty warships.

All things considered, the Ming Dynasty navy likely had over 1600 warships, making it the strongest navy in the world.

Ma Wenyuan is currently using the main warship of the Ming Dynasty navy – the Haiqiu ship.

Two ships.

They were all allocated by Old Zhu yesterday.

The sea loach boat, also known as the wind drill boat, is about 26 meters long and 5 meters wide. Its core firepower consists of two "bowl guns" (similar to small mortars that bombard the hull).

除此之外还有蹶张弩4-6具、碗口铳1-2门（舰载）、火药箭（没羽箭）20-30支、火喷筒10-15具。

The two sea bream boats were just enough to accommodate all of Ma Wenyuan's men, and there were even some left over.

Unlike the 400-ton warships, the sea loach boats have a shallow draft. Although they are about the same size, they are lighter and more maneuverable.

It is very suitable for shallow water assault and general operations.

Compared to command-type warships like the 400-ton battleship, Ma Wenyuan was better suited to using the sea loach boat.

Two seaplanes divided Ma Wenyuan's men in two, which Ma Wenyuan named Number One and Number Two.

Meng Chong led his soldiers onto the No. 1 ship, and Ma Wenyuan was also there.

He Tao boarded the second ship.

For the first seven days, Ma Wenyuan planned to train the soldiers to turn in narrow rivers and to practice obeying orders.

Ma Wenyuan even incorporated later military bugle calls into the design, instructing the two ships to respond to the bugle call.

However, the first day of training was quite lackluster.

Even before training began, half of the participants suffered from seasickness, vomiting, and diarrhea.

In addition to this, Ma Wenyuan also discovered a huge problem.

Many people can't swim.

There were almost casualties before the training even started—two soldiers fell into the water and barely survived.

Ma Wenyuan had no choice but to revise the original plan: morning lessons to practice strict discipline, afternoon boat handling practice, and evening water practice to improve swimming skills.

We can only proceed step by step.

"I don't know why our Wudewei wants to fight on the water. Isn't this just bullying honest people?"

On the second ship.

Ding Shuisheng swallowed back the vomit that was about to rise in his throat, and had some complaints about today's trip.

He was a junior officer, and soon his soldiers echoed his words.

"Yeah, I think it's... well, it's also inexplicable."

"That's fucking damn good."

Ding Shuisheng wiped the drool from his mouth and forced himself to stand still, but before he could speak...

Another jolt, and Ding Shuisheng lost his balance and fell face-first to the ground, which made him even more furious.

Getting up, Ding Shuisheng cursed again.

"Damn it, what the hell are we doing!"

"Ding Shuisheng, the centurion has heard of your excellent swimming skills and has appointed you as the swimming instructor!"

Just then, He Tao walked over.

He was born a fisherman, and now he walks on the deck as if it were flat ground, without any problems.

"You are responsible for teaching all the brothers who can't swim how to swim. If you do well, the centurion promises to reward you with a thousand coins."

Having said that, He Tao looked at the soldiers who were lying scattered about, and, filled with rage, shouted angrily.

"Damn a bunch of good-for-nothings! Lord Centurion also said that starting today, we'll have a competition with the people on Ship Number One, and the best trainee will be rewarded with two thousand coins!"

"You sons of bitches better watch yourselves, or I'll skin you alive!"

After these words were spoken, no one dared to utter another word.

Who would turn down money? Two thousand coins, excluding the share for the captain and the junior officers, would leave everyone with a considerable amount.

Ding Shuisheng, who was the most unwilling, is now very happy.

There's no other reason than that he can get the most.

With monetary incentives, the training process went quite smoothly.

The soldiers worked hard, and the officers worked even harder.

Whenever a junior officer or senior officer saw his subordinates slacking off, Ma Wenyuan wouldn't even need to say a word; he would simply kick them.

The first day didn't end perfectly; everyone rested on the ship that night, and no one was allowed to disembark until they met the training standards.

According to Ma Wenyuan's observations and statistics, out of more than 100 people, less than half can swim, and of those, half can only barely swim, with no more than ten able to cross rapids.

This number is quite unacceptable.

What kind of place is Qutang Pass?

The river was flanked by towering cliffs, its waters swift as arrows, and it was riddled with hidden reefs. The Xia army not only had iron chains across the river, but also had archers and musketeers lying in ambush along the banks.

It's highly likely that someone will fall into the water, and if they can't swim, they'll die.

Ma Wenyuan was furious that Zhu De would send his landlubber troops to participate in the naval battle.

……

Ma Xiuying was also very annoyed.

"I heard my brother went to train his troops today. Five out of ten of them can't swim. How could you give him such an army?"

Inside the palace.

Ma Xiuying, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Yuanzhang enjoyed a warm meal together.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's ever-smiling face, Ma Xiuying became even more furious.

She put down her chopsticks, her face hardening, and Ma Xiuying angrily said,

"I'm asking you a question!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao also put down their chopsticks at the same time.

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lip.

"What's wrong with Wu Dewei? Since my brother-in-law says that my younger brother is a promising talent, then naturally we should let him train a bit."

"Yes, Mother."

Zhu Biao also chimed in,

"The Martial Guard is a personal guard, and its soldiers are of good quality. Although most of them can't swim, this is a good opportunity to test Uncle's skills, isn't it?"

Seeing that Ma Xiuying's expression was still unpleasant, Zhu Biao changed the subject, "I have always supported my uncle staying in the court to work."

Ma Xiuying directed her criticism at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang: "?"

"Young people should go to the army to get some experience. I think my little brother is pretty good."

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to explain, "Compared to Lan Yu, Bao'er was no different when he was young; he led troops by combining kindness and severity."

Hearing this, Ma Xiuying remembered that her younger brother had killed a minor officer yesterday, and thought of Zhu Biao's high regard for Ma Wenyuan, which put her mind at ease.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked at the opportune moment,

"Or how about we ask him to come to the palace and sit with you for a while?"

"Never mind, let's get down to business."

Ma Xiuying shook her head, while secretly planning to send some more money to her younger brother.